A number of interventional radiologic medical techniques have been recently developed to address a variety of potentially life-threatening human ailments. For example, interventional radiologic techniques have been developed to allow removal and/or destruction of stones in the biliary or excretory systems, blood clots in blood vessels and foreign bodies introduced by surgery that have migrated or become dysfunctional. As another example, interventional radiologic techniques may be utilized to treat stenosis, a degenerative blood vessel condition that causes a narrowing or constriction of the lumen so that blood flow is restricted. Due to their minimally invasive nature, interventional radiologic techniques provide an attractive alternative to surgery and thus have become very popular.
Interventional radiologic techniques typically utilize a wire that passes from outside of the patient's body, through his or her skin and into the tubular structure of interest. Once the wire is positioned in the desired location, medical devices, such as catheters, may be passed over the wire and thereby guided into the tubular structure so that the desired medical procedure may be performed. These "guidewires", as they have come to be called, are of various lengths, calibers and materials, depending on the use for which they are intended.
In use, guidewires, after removal from their sterile packaging, are inserted into the patient and the portion remaining outside of the patient's body is spooled by hand, as would be an extension cord. More specifically, the external portion of a guidewire is wound about itself in such a way as to "lock" the wire from springing into its naturally straight configuration. The wound portion of the guidewire is then placed into a large bowl containing a sterile saline solution so as to keep the wire wet. The saline solution also promotes the dissolution of any clots which may have formed on the guidewire after it is removed from the patient and placed in the bowl.
Oftentimes several different guidewires may be used during a single procedure. As a result, a number of wound guidewire portions may accumulate in a bowl. In addition, several catheters may be placed in the bowl. It thus often becomes difficult for a physician to locate a specific guidewire within the bowl during a procedure.
Wound guidewires also have a tendency to straighten once unlocked. As a result, a guidewire may spring open unexpectedly when it is being unwound during a procedure. When this occurs, the guidewire may inadvertently come into contact with non-sterile areas of the procedure room, and hence need to be resterilized or completely replaced.
The bowls containing the wound guidewire portions and catheters may also be accidently tipped over during procedures. Such a scenario would also likely result in the catheters and guidewires coming into to contact with non-sterile areas of the procedure room such as the floor.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for storing medical guidewires that maintains them submersed in liquid.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for storing multiple medical guidewires of various sizes and types so that they are organized for easy identification and access.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for storing medical guidewires that allows for their easy introduction into a patient and removal therefrom.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for storing medical guidewires so that they don't spring open unexpectedly during a procedure.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for storing medical guidewires that prevents their contact with non-sterile portions of the procedure room.